"Mix" stations

[shocker]

How many of you have a Hot AC station in your market with a "Mix" title? If so, how is the quality of the music selection?

I live in the Phoenix area, and our Hot AC is Mix 96.9. They have a pretty good website, but their on-air music selection is mediocre at best. They have a tendency to play a few of the newer songs for about a week or so, only to drop them completely for several months, then bring them back AFTER they reach their Hot AC chart peak.

A good example of this is Nickelback's "If Everyone Cared". Mix 96.9 added this as a "pick of the night" about 3 months ago, then stopped spinning it altogether. Now, they're back to playing "Savin' Me" and "Far Away" in heavy rotation again!

They're big on spinning '80s music on weekends - or what they call '80s block parties, then sometimes they'll put on blocks of "unplugged" versions of popular songs from the past 20 years or so - which usually sound awful! Uggh!

So I'm just wondering if this kind of stuff is typical on ALL "Mix" stations, or is Phoenix just unlucky enough to have it?

I've been pushing for another alternate Hot AC in this market. We used to have 2 of them several years ago, but the more modern-sounding Hot AC didn't last too long. So for now, we're stuck with the "Mix"!

[Pipa]

Ironically, my "mix" station is a rock station while the "power" station is a Hot AC station.

[iceman]

shocker said:

So I'm just wondering if this kind of stuff is typical on ALL "Mix" stations, or is Phoenix just unlucky enough to have it?

No, you're just unlucky, they would vary from city to city anyways. I remember one a few years ago and they had changed formats (Hot AC to Modern AC and back with the same name) but they were what I thought was a typical Hot AC station playing plenty of new music as well as some 80's and 90's.

Right now we have a new one called "Energy 101.5". For a Hot AC station they play a fair amount of R&B, some lighter rap and even the odd late 70's song including Earth Wind & Fire, Donna Summer and even the Four Seasons.

[Kid Pulse]

I have 2 HotAC stations that I pick up; one is 92.5, which I listen to, and the other "MIX 107.3" (Washington).

Mix 107.3 used to be great, when they were "the best mix of the 80s, 90s, and today" but now they suck because they're "the best mix of everything". Usually I hear an 80s song when I flip to it.

Also, the station's DJs seem to be IN LOVE with OAR and Hoobastank, and play them as if they were Matchbox Twenty and Nickelback, which I have always found strange.

[shocker]

I kind of figured each "Mix" station is different. Mix 94.1 in Las Vegas is definitely more modern-sounding than Phoenix's Mix 96.9. Phoenix could really use a modern AC outlet to compete with "Mix" - as we used to have a few years ago.

Actually, our market has another Hot AC - in a way. Movin' 97.5 is an R&B/dance station that targets adults in the 25-45 age group. That station is quite interesting. They spin a lot of tunes from the '80s & '90s, but they also find room for current artists like Black Eyed Peas, Justin Timberlake, Gwen Stefani, Natasha Bedingfield, and Nelly Furtado.

[mst3k]

Mix 100.7 here in Tampa... pretty generic Hot AC/AC hybrid (thanks, Clear Channel). The only positive thing I can say about it is that they air American Top 20 on Saturday mornings.

[shocker]

mst3k1 said:

Mix 100.7 here in Tampa... pretty generic Hot AC/AC hybrid (thanks, Clear Channel). The only positive thing I can say about it is that they air American Top 20 on Saturday mornings.

That's WMTX - a station I've been curious about for a while.

It definitely straddles the line between AC & Hot AC, but I think it leans more toward Hot AC if anything. Strangely, the R&R site lists it as a regular AC. ???

Does Mix 100.7 purposely remove songs from the AT20 countdown that they don't have on their playlist? Mix 96.9 does - and it drives me up the wall!

[jayman]

Mix 100.7 does air every song played on AT20 except for the third Optional Extra.

[Kid Pulse]

l

shocker said:

mst3k1 said:

Mix 100.7 here in Tampa... pretty generic Hot AC/AC hybrid (thanks, Clear Channel). The only positive thing I can say about it is that they air American Top 20 on Saturday mornings.

That's WMTX - a station I've been curious about for a while.

It definitely straddles the line between AC & Hot AC, but I think it leans more toward Hot AC if anything. Strangely, the R&R site lists it as a regular AC. ???

Does Mix 100.7 purposely remove songs from the AT20 countdown that they don't have on their playlist? Mix 96.9 does - and it drives me up the wall!

LOL, my friend from Chandler, Arizona always is complaining why she doesn't hear certain songs on there. I guess now I can tell her...

[shocker]

It should be illegal for local stations to alter nationally-syndicated shows like AT20. But on the other hand, I suppose if the station is paying for the show, they think they can do whatever they want to it.

Mix 96.9 generally avoids heavy rotation of R&B or hip-hop leaning material. If Beyonce or Justin Timberlake have hits in the AT20 countdown, Mix 96.9 removes them from the AT20 broadcast.

[KelownaGuy20]

The station I listen to most doesn't so much have "Mix" in their station name, but it's in their station ID... "SunFM, today's best music mix."